Why is my 13 week old puppy peeing every 20 minutes

Why Does My Puppy Pee So Much?

Does it feel like you spend the whole day taking your puppy out to use the bathroom?

Youre not imagining it. Puppies actually do pee more often than adult dogs. But its also possible that your puppy could be going a lot due to an underlying condition. So when should you be actually worried?

The Dodo spoke to Dr. Sehaj Grewal, a veterinarian and CEO of The Melrose Vet, to find out how often puppies pee and how to know when to go to the vet.

Why does my puppy pee so much?

It might seem like youre constantly taking your puppy out to go to the bathroom, but thats pretty common with puppies since they actually go to the bathroom a lot more often than adult dogs.

Puppies urinate frequently because their bladders are small and [they] don't have enough control developed, Dr. Grewal told The Dodo.

Puppies are much smaller than adult dogs, so their bladders are smaller, which means they cant hold their urine for as long. And like human babies, puppies havent learned how to control their bladders yet so when they have to go, they have to go immediately at that moment.

How often do puppies pee?

According to Dr. Grewal, Depending on the age, a puppy urinates every few hours. The older they become, the less frequently they have to go.

Puppies can typically hold their bladders for about an hour for every month of their age. So your 3-month-old puppy should be able to wait about three hours to go out. If your puppy just drank a whole bowl of water, though, he might need to go out right away since puppies usually need to go to the bathroom within 1030 minutes after eating or drinking.

At around 9 months old, your puppy should be able to control his bladder and hold it for about as long as an adult dog can.

I would say that at around 910 months of age, they should be able to control their bladder [to hold it for] eight hours or so, Dr. Grewal said.

Medical causes of puppy frequent urination

If it seems like your puppys peeing way too much or suddenly starts going more than usual, there could be an underlying issue to blame.

Some health issues that can cause excessive urination are urinary tract infections (UTIs), ectopic ureters (a congenital birth defect of the urinary tract) and metabolic diseases, such as diabetes, Dr. Grewal said.

Heres how to tell if your puppys peeing normally.

Diabetes

When a puppy has diabetes, either his pancreas doesnt produce enough insulin or his body doesnt process the insulin well enough.

When the blood glucose gets too high, the body passes it into the urine along with a bunch of extra water (since glucose attracts water), which is why some of the main symptoms of diabetes in dogs are drinking a lot and frequent urination.

Diabetes is more common in middle- and older-aged dogs, but younger pups can be diagnosed with it, too.

Urinary tract infections

Urinary tract infections occur when bacteria travel up the urethra to the bladder. If your puppy has a UTI, he might strain to pee or whine when peeing. He may also have blood in his urine and abdominal pain.

Ectopic ureters

Ureters are tubes that drain urine from the kidneys to the bladder. If your puppy has ectopic ureters, they dont attach properly to the bladder, which can cause incontinence.

The most common signs of ectopic ureters in puppies include an inability to hold their bladders and urine dripping, and they may also lick their gential areas frequently. Puppies with ectopic ureters are more prone to getting UTIs, too.

Bladder infections

Bladder infections are caused by bacteria traveling into your dogs bladder due to problems with urine flow, a weakened immune system or other causes. Signs of a bladder infection include frequent urination or having accidents in the house, painful urination and blood in the urine.

Kidney infections

Kidney infections are usually caused by bacteria getting past the bladder and traveling all the way to the kidneys. Signs of a kidney infection include vomiting, excessive thirst and urination, not eating, abdominal pain, and a fever.

Bladder or kidney stones

Bladder or kidney stones can cause your pup to have to pee frequently. Other common symptoms are blood in the urine and straining to pee.

If your puppy has a complete obstruction in his urinary tract, he might not be able to release any urine, or he may only able to release tiny amounts, which can be potentially life-threatening. If you notice your puppy straining to pee with not much coming out, contact your vet.

Medications

Certain medications, such as corticosteroids, can make your puppy have to pee frequently. If your puppys taking medicine, his frequent urination should stop when hes done with it. Your vet can also let you know what any possible medication side effects might be.

Tumors

Tumors in the kidneys or lower urinary tract can make your dog have to go to the bathroom a lot. These are pretty uncommon, and urinary tract tumors usually occur in older dogs, so you likely wont have to worry about this with your puppy.

Behavioral causes of puppy frequent urination

If your puppy doesnt have any underlying medical problems, there can be some possible behavior-related explanations for why hes going so much.

Submissive urination

Submissive urination is when puppies involuntarily pee because theyre stressed, excited or scared. You might have noticed this if your puppy pees a little bit every time you come home because hes happy to see you. Dogs also urinate submissively to recognize dominance, so your puppy might pee to show that he knows youre his owner.

Puppies usually grow out of this behavior as they get older, and house training your puppy will help.

Anxiety or stress

According to Dr. Grewal, Non-medical [causes] could be anxiety or stress.

Dogs will sometimes regress in their potty training when theyre stressed. This can happen if youve just brought your new puppy home and he still needs to decompress. Since hes in an unfamiliar place and surrounded by new people and things, he might not be acting like his usual self.

Attention

Your puppy will quickly learn that you take him out every time he goes to the bathroom indoors, so he might be peeing to get your attention and spend time with you. A good way to stop this is to play with your puppy and take him on lots of walks so hell get to hang out with you without peeing all over the house.

Too much water

Puppies have to go to the bathroom soon after drinking water, so if youre giving him water all day long, he might need to constantly go.

If it seems like your puppys drinking too much water, though, he could have an underlying issue like one of the ones mentioned above, such as diabetes or a kidney infection.

Not house broken

Your puppy might just not be house broken yet, and he may not understand which areas are appropriate to go to the bathroom in, which can be solved by potty training him (tips on how to potty train your puppy below).

How to potty train a puppy

If your puppy keeps peeing in the house, here are some tips for potty training him:

• Watch for signs that your puppy might need to go out, like circling or sniffing the floor.
• Crate train your puppy, and keep him in his crate when youre not with him. You can get this crate that earned The Dodos Paw of Approval from Diggs for $375.
• Give your puppy treats and praise when he pees outside.
• Saying a trigger word, like potty, immediately before he goes can help train him to go on cue.
• Stop giving your puppy water about two hours before bed.
• Dont discipline your puppy for submissive urination, since its involuntary and hes unable to control it.

Puppies do have to go to the bathroom pretty often. But if your puppy suddenly starts going way more than normal, talk to your vet to see if there could be something else going on.

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Why Is My Puppy Peeing So Much?

While puppies bring almost immeasurable joy to the lives of people everywhere, the first couple of months are often taxing. Unfortunately, your life will revolve around your puppys bladder (and his tummy) to a ridiculous degree.

If youre not standing outside in the cold, trying to coax your little puppy to potty, youre inside cleaning up a puddle on your kitchen floor (if youre lucky, that is some prefer to sprinkle on the carpet).

Youll learn to be as vigilant as a mother hen, while trying to interpret your dogs sniffing behavior to catch him before he throws his leg up.

But sometimes, little puppies pee even more than what would be considered a normal frequency. This should serve as a warning, and you should not just ignore this problem.

Well try to help you deal with this issue below. Well explain how often young puppies should pee and what counts as frequent urination in dogs. Well also explain some of the reasons your puppy may need to pee frequently and outline some potential treatments and management strategies.

• Puppies have small bladders, so they often need to urinate pretty frequently. However, puppies that need to tinkle more than once per hour per month of age may be suffering from a health problem (see further explanation below).
• A variety of medical problems can cause puppies to urinate frequently. A few of the most common medical causes of a puppy peeing frequently include urinary tract infections, kidney problems, diabetes, and others.
• Puppies may also urinate frequently for behavioral reasons. Some of the most common behavioral causes of frequent urination include anxiety, attention-seeking behavior, and simply failing to grasp the rules about when and where to relieve himself.

How Often Should a Puppy Pee? Whats Excessive Peeing and Whats Normal?

Healthy adult dogs can hold their bladder for impressive lengths of time. Many only require three trips outside per day, meaning that they are waiting at least 8 hours between pit stops.

For example, an adult dog may drain his water dish and then go fall asleep on the couch all night before needing to pee in the morning.

He may really need to go by the time he licks you into a conscious state around 6:00 AM, but hell hold it all night without problem.

But young puppies, whose bladders are much smaller and bladder control much poorer, must be allowed to tinkle far more often than this. In some cases, your pup may pee in the house right after being outside.

Puppies will usually need to void their bladder within 10 to 30 minutes of filling up their tanks.

This means that, in general, young puppies (less than about 6 months old) should be taken out once every hour or two.

The AKC suggests that puppies can wait for the same number of hours as their age in months up to about 9 months of age.

This means that a 1-month-old puppy will need to pee every hour, while a 5-month-old puppy will need to relieve himself every 5 hours.

So, if your 5-month-old puppy needs to pee every hour or two, something is probably wrong. You should consult your veterinarian for this kind of excessive peeing and get your puppy the help he needs.

Your vet can help you treat medical problems, but if your pup is healthy, the root of the problem is probably behavioral in nature. Youll have to correct these problems (potentially with the help of a trainer or behaviorist).

Why Is My Puppy Peeing So Much: Medical Causes of Frequent or Excessive Urination

There are a number of different reasons your puppy may need to pee often, so dont expect to get a quick-and-easy answer from your vet.

He or she will likely need to perform several tests starting with a history and urinalysis, but potentially progressing to blood work and imaging techniques before determining which medical issue (if any) is responsible for the problem.

Diabetes

Diabetes is a disease in which the pancreas either fails to produce enough insulin (the hormone used to process glucose, or blood sugar), or the body becomes insensitive to the insulin produced.

In either case, the result is high blood sugar, which triggers a dogs kidneys to shed water, thereby stimulating the puppy to empty his bladder. This is one of the common medical reasons a dog may pee while they sleep. Another common symptom of diabetes is excessive drinking and thirst, which exacerbates the peeing problem.

Diabetes is often a congenital defect, which can strike puppies at a relatively early age. While imminently treatable, diabetes cannot be cured. Naturally, itsimportant to consult a veterinarian anytime you suspect your dog may be diabetic. You may also need to switch your pooch to a diabetic dog food.

Urinary Tract Infection

Just as they do in people,urinary tract infectionscan cause puppies to feel a frequent and urgent need to urinate.

Urinary tract infections are usually easy to treat, although some particular bacterial strains are more difficult to eradicate than others. So, as always, prompt veterinary treatment is imperative. Fortunately, most bladder infections are easy to confirm by testing a urine sample.

Note that some puppies may experience urinary tract infections centered around the genital opening. In these cases, spaying or neutering is generally the most effective treatment, rather than antibiotics.

Kidney Infection

Kidney infections or kidney disesase can cause many of the same symptoms as urinary tract infections, and they can cause your pup to need more frequent trips outside.

Like urinary tract infections, kidney infections are often treatable with antibiotics.

Bladder Stones

Bladder stones can cause your pup to feel the urgent need to void their bladder. Often, stones of either type will cause blood to occur in the urine, but this can also occur with serious kidney or bladder infections, so it is not diagnostic.

Stones are often very painful for your pup, and they can even be life-threatening, so be sure to get immediate veterinary assistance anytime you suspect this type of problem.

Kidney Stones

Kidney stones can also cause your puppy to pee more frequently than normal. However, kidney stones arent as common in dogs as they are in people many times, they dont even require treatment.

However, it is still imperative that you seek veterinary care, as stones can occasionally obstruct your dogs ureter, which can be a life-threatening problem.

Medications

Some medications can cause a puppy (or an adult dog, for that matter) to pee more than usual. Most veterinarians will warn you of this possibility beforehand, to help alleviate any potential worry on your part.

Tumors

Although rare, brain or spinal tumors may impart pressure on the nerves between your pups brain and bladder, which can impair their ability to control their bladders. For example, while it doesnt often occur in puppies, some older dogs suffer from Cushings Disease.

This affliction usually entails the growth of a benign (non-cancerous) brain tumor, which puts pressure on the pituitary gland. This in turn cause the bodys hormone levels to stray from normal, which can lead to frequent urination.

Why Is My Puppy Peeing So Much: Behavioral Reasons Dogs Pee More Than Normal

After your veterinarian verifies that your puppy is not suffering from some physical malady, it is time to turn your attention to the emotional, mental and behavioral reasons that hes having problems.

Some of the most common examples of these types of problems include:

Attention-Seeking Behavior

Sometimes, puppies who are not sufficiently stimulated may urinate in inappropriate places as a way of seeking attention from their person. While the attention is often negative (No! Bad puppy! Dont pee in the house!!!), it is better in the pups mind than no attention at all.

Fortunately, this is one of the easiest causes of frequent peeing to treat. You just need to get your dog more stimulation, exercise, and attention to solve this behavioral issue!

So, get off the couch (or from behind your computer) and increase his activity level! Go play fetch or scoot around at the park with your pup!

You may also want to consider investing in some puppy-friendly teething toys or dog puzzle toys which can help keep your pooch stimulated physically and mentally.

Anxiety

Many dogs, especially twitchy little toy breeds (no disrespect intended), pee whenever they get nervous.

While this is obviously better than a medically induced reason for excessive urination, it is often a bit trickier to fix.

More exercise, stimulation, and socialization may help in many cases, but it may also be helpful to provide high-strung dogs with a good hiding spot into which they can retreat whenever they are nervous. Dog cave beds are one popular way to provide smaller breeds with a cozy safe space they can feel secure in.

In many cases, these dogs may need the assistance of a professional trainer to feel more secure and stop peeing everywhere.

You should also consider whether you may be inadvertently causing anxiety in your pup.

For example, some dogs may pee when yelled at (a phenomenon known as submissive urination).

To address this issue, work on showing your dog that you are not a threat. Focus on using positive reinforcement training strategies to help your pup create a positive association with you.

Improper or Incomplete Training

Im just going to rip the band air right off: You may be the reason your puppy is peeing too much.

Puppies dont know when they are and are not allowed to go pottyright off the bat its your job as an owner to help them developthose skills.

The first step is to develop consistent, firm training methods including those relative to bathroom time. This means taking your pup out on a regular schedule (including anytime he drinks water) and providing plenty of praise and affection when he goes in the right place.

Dont neglect your pups potty routine taking him out often and regularly is essential for fostering healthy puppy potty behaviors in the future.

Also remember that puppies dont have complete control of their bladders when less than a few months old.

Sometimes, they dont understand that they need to go until the urge strikes them. Before they know it, theyre sprinkling on the carpet. Patience is an essential skill for any puppy owner!

It also takes time for puppies to learn how to manage their bladders.

Anyone whos walked an adult dog knows that they often release a lot of urine when they first go outside, but theyll also pee a little in a dozen more places over the course of the walk.

Theyll eventually empty their bladders more-or-less completely, but they keep a little in reserve for marking purposes.

Little puppies simply cant control their bladders this well, so it takes them a while to figure all of these things out.

Pet-Care Pro Tip: Potty Training Tips

Need to learn more about puppy potty training? Have some questions you need answered?

Weve got you covered: Check out our puppy house training guide here!

Coping with Frequent Urination in Dogs: Tips & Tricks

Depending on the reason your pup is peeing inside, you may need to embrace different strategies and techniques for improving your shared situation.

A few things that may help your tiny tinkler better control his bladder include:

Crate Train Your Pooch

Crate training is one of the most effective methods for teaching puppies the proper place to poop and pee. The basic idea is that you keep your puppy in his or her crate anytime you cant directly supervise them. Puppies are naturally reticent to pee or poop near their sleeping place, so they will usually instinctually hold it until you let them out.

Of course, youll need to let them out to go every hour or two at first, but, over time, youll be able to gradually extend the amount of time between potty trips.

If your pup has an accident inside his crate, be sure to clean it thoroughly, to avoid lingering odors, which may trigger him to repeat the offense.

Use Belly Bands or Diapers

If there is no medical reason your little sprinkler is peeing so frequently, you may just need to mitigate your losses.

One of the best ways to do so is through the use of a belly band (for male dogs) or a diaper (for females). These devices wont stop them from peeing, but theyll limit the mess after theyve done so.

Both types of products typically rely on an absorbent pad or liner, to soak up the inevitable accident. Youll have to change your pups pad frequently, and wash the band regularly, but this is easier (and more sanitary) than trying to clean up the floor constantly.

If youre feeling crafty, DIY dog diapers are another option, but we think most folks will prefer to just buy a pack of pup diapers and call it a day.

Lengthen Your Pups Potty Breaks

If your puppy is prone to peeing immediately after you return from your walks, consider extending your walks a little (this can be especially helpful for pups with higher than normal water intake).

Give him a few more opportunities to trigger his tinkling urge, and more completely empty his bladder. This can be especially helpful when used as part of a crate-training regimen, but it will also help if you simply let your pup wander about the house.

Obliterate Odors

To a large extent, dogs decide where to go based on their nose. Who knows exactly why they pick the places they do, but more often than not, they like going in a place that has been used before, and they do this by using their keen nose to detect the faintest traces of old urine or poop.

Youll want to be sure you thoroughly and I mean thoroughly clean up any accidents. Once youve soaked up the puddle, youll want to use a high-quality odor-neutralizer to help remove the smell. This is especially important when the accident occurred on the carpet.

Clean it until you cant smell any residual odor (even with your nose close to the ground), and then clean it once or twice again your dogs nose is profoundly more powerful than yours is, so youll have to go above and beyond.

Breeds That May Be Difficult to Housebreak

Many breeders, veterinarians and trainers consider some breeds to require more frequent bathroom trips or to be more difficult to housebreak than others. However, others dispute this notion, and believe that things like breed and size fail to have an effect on a dogs need to urinate.

But whether a dogs breed influences his need to go outside, or if this perceived phenomenon is nothing more than confirmation bias or an example of correlation, rather than causation; the following breeds are among those who experience these problems the most.

Fortunately, most of them are small, which limits the size of the ensuing mess.

• Pekingese
• Jack Russell terrier
• Bichon Frise
• Yorkshire terrier
• Maltese
• Pug
• Beagle
• Bassett Hound
• Chihuahua
• Whippet
• Dachshund
• Pomeranian

Of course, these arent the only breeds that can suffer from peeing problems, but they are among those who suffer from these types of problems the most. Just know that if you share your life with one of these four-footers, you may need to provide more frequent potty breaks and be ready to deal with the occasional puddle.

Are you battling a puppy who is constantly making puddles around the house? What types of strategies have you used to correct the problem? Has your vet diagnosed your pup with a bladder infection or other health issue, or is the problem rooted in your dogs behavior?

Tell us all about your experiences in the comments, below. You never know when your experiences will help someone else out.